JP2013540558A - Carpet or carpet tile manufacturing method, carpet or carpet tile obtained by carrying out the manufacturing method, and support material used in the method - Google Patents

Abstract

  Carpets, such as carpet tiles, include a support material that is provided with yarns tufted therein. This support material comprises a first layer of non-woven material, with a reinforcement provided on the first layer, such as the second layer of the scrim attached to the first layer. The yarn is thermally fused on one side of the tufted support material. One or more backing materials are attached to the one side of the tufted support material.

Description

  The present invention relates to the field of carpets, and more particularly to the manufacture of carpets or carpet tiles. In particular, the invention relates to a method for producing a (wide-woven) carpet or carpet tile and to a carpet or carpet tile obtained by carrying out the production method according to the invention.

  In the manufacture of carpets or carpet tiles, conventionally, the yarn is tufted into a sheet-like support material, which is also called the primary backing. This tufted step results in an intermediate product of support material tufted into the yarn. The tufted yarn is fixed to the support material by applying a pre-coating on one side of the intermediate product before further manufacturing steps such as providing one or more secondary backing materials, calendering operations, etc. anchor).

  The pre-coating may be a latex-based material, an adhesive, a hot melt adhesive, or any other adhesive and is applied in a fluid state. Therefore, such pre-coating must be dried by heat treatment before performing further manufacturing steps. The heat treatment takes time, it is necessary to supply heating energy, and the solvent leaks from the adhesive.

  Today, the majority of carpet manufacturers have a manufacturing process that has a less environmental impact of the manufacturing process and / or enables the so-called “cradle-to-cradle” usage concept for carpets. Looking for alternatives to certain steps. In manufacturing processes that implement such principles, alternative strategies for securing the tufted material to the support material can be applied.

  NL1034840C discloses thermally fusing a tufted yarn to a support material to avoid the use of any pre-coating. The heat fusion process requires a high temperature with a short contact time available for fusion, in which case, for example, as known from NL1026245C, a high temperature contact element such as a roller is brought into contact with one side of the intermediate product for a short time. . Typically, fusing the tufted yarns to each other and / or to the support material requires a contact element temperature in excess of 240 ° C. and some predetermined contact time between the intermediate product and the contact element.

  The problem addressed in the cited document NL1034840 is not the pre-coating but the problem of dimensional stability of the final product when applying the fusion process to fix the yarn to the intermediate product. The support material may be deformed as a result of the heat-sealing process, so the absolute dimensions cannot be reliably reproduced and the flatness required for the carpet cannot be reached. According to cited document NL1034840, this problem is solved by selecting a support material made from tape, which is made from polypropylene and non-melting or hot-melting natural or synthetic fibers or tapes Or each consists of a combination of polypropylene tape and non-melting or hot-melting fibers or tapes.

  However, in the above, since the tape fabric as the support material is extremely discontinuous in nature, it seems that the problems found at the edges of the carpet are not actually solved. By using tape fabric, the size and shape of the carpet edges become unstable, resulting in seams between different carpets with acceptable quality, i.e. each edge is flat and straight. It cannot be made. Such problems are even greater when making carpet tiles because the total length of the edges in the unit area of the carpet tile is much larger than the same unit area of the wide woven carpet.

  Accordingly, there is a need for an improved manufacturing process with carpet tufted thermal fusion that overcomes problems in the prior art and produces carpet with satisfactory dimensional stability, such as at the edges of carpets or carpet tiles.

NL1034840C NL1026245C

  It would be desirable to provide a carpet manufacturing method that can provide a carpet or carpet tile with the required dimensional stability, including dimensional stability at the edge of the carpet or carpet tile. Such requirements are defined, for example, in the standards EN986 ISO2551 and DIN54318. It would also be desirable to provide a carpet manufacturing method that can provide carpets or carpet tiles with reduced environmental impact.

  In order to better address one or more of the above considerations, in a first aspect of the invention, a method of manufacturing a carpet, such as a carpet tile, is provided. The method comprises the steps of providing an intermediate product comprising a support material and having two opposing surfaces, wherein the support material is provided with a yarn tufted to the support material; and the tufted yarn Fusing the yarn on one side of the intermediate product to secure the substrate to the support material. The support material includes a first layer of non-woven material, and a reinforcing material is provided on the first layer.

  The method according to the invention achieves satisfactory dimensional stability of the final product by reinforcing the nonwoven material of the support material.

  In particular, the reinforced support material can cope with the mechanical stress of the intermediate product caused by thermally fusing the yarn on one side of the intermediate product, and thus also at the edge of the carpet or carpet tile. It seems that the applicable standard dimensional requirements can be met.

  In one embodiment, the support material is comprised of a nonwoven material and a reinforcement. In this case, non-woven materials and reinforcing materials, or other materials other than those structures are not included in the support material.

  In one embodiment, the support material comprises one or more layers of nonwoven material.

  In one embodiment, the support material does not include a woven material, which includes elongate elements such as parallel threads or strips or tapes that extend in different directions, and these elements are placed in close proximity to each other. A material in which the spacing between two adjacent parallel elements is less than the width or thickness or diameter of one element. Such woven materials can be disadvantageous because they can become unstable in size and shape at the edges of carpets or carpet tiles.

  In one embodiment, the reinforcement comprises a reinforcement layer that may comprise a scrim or fleece. In one embodiment, the support material comprises one or more scrim layers.

  In the present specification, the scrim is a plurality of yarns arranged at intervals in parallel to at least the first direction, and arranged at intervals in parallel to a second direction different from the first direction. Defined as a sheet comprising a plurality of yarns, the first direction yarn intersects the second direction yarn, and the second point at the contact point between the first direction yarn and the second direction yarn. Bonded to the yarn in the direction. As an example, the angle between the yarn in the first direction and the yarn in the second direction may be about 90 degrees. The spacing between two adjacent yarns of the scrim is greater than the width or thickness or diameter of the yarn, in particular substantially larger, more particularly at least twice, even more particularly at least four times greater.

  In one embodiment, the scrim is a woven scrim in which each yarn in one direction alternates above and below the yarn in the subsequent other direction. The connection between the yarns in the different directions obtained by the above results in excellent mechanical properties in different directions in the plane of the support material, and thus the optimum dimensional stability of the carpet end product. However, as an acceptable alternative, the scrim may also be unwoven, in which case layers of yarns spaced parallel to the first direction are spaced parallel to the second direction. Placed on the layer of yarn placed.

  In one embodiment, the reinforcement comprises parallel, separate reinforcement yarns that are suitable if the heat fusion process can result in unacceptably unstable shapes or dimensions in one direction. Reinforcement will be realized. If the yarn is oriented in this direction, such instability can be prevented. The spacing between two adjacent yarns is greater than the width or thickness or diameter of the yarn, in particular substantially larger, more particularly at least twice as large, even more particularly at least four times as great.

  In order to carry out the method according to the invention (possibly part thereof), this reinforced support material can be fed into a production line (possibly part thereof) and used as a substrate, The reinforced support material starts with a nonwoven sheet that is separate from the reinforcement, such as a scrim sheet, fleece, or reinforcement yarn, and before performing the tufting step in the production line (possibly part thereof) It is also conceivable to produce the non-woven sheet in a production line by providing a reinforcing material.

  In one embodiment, the reinforcement is affixed to the first layer. In the sticking process, if the adhesive is applied only to the scrim fibers, the minimum amount of adhesive can be used, and then the scrim is contacted with or pressed onto the nonwoven sheet to create a layered support material To do. The adhesive may be, for example, latex or hot melt.

  In another embodiment, the reinforcement is adhered to the first layer by a fusion process such as heat fusion. In such a fusion process, the use of an adhesive is avoided, and thus the manufacturing process of the support layer can be simplified. In the heat fusion process, heat is applied by direct contact with the heating element or by thermal radiation.

  If reinforcing yarn is used, the reinforcing yarn can be woven into the first layer of nonwoven material of the support material.

  In various embodiments, a wide variety of non-woven materials and scrim materials can be combined. The nonwoven material and the scrim material can each comprise polyester (PES), polypropylene (PP), glass, and / or polyamide (PA), in particular PA6 and / or PA6.6.

  In one embodiment, the first (nonwoven) layer of support material is on the pile surface of the intermediate product and the reinforcement layer of support material is on the back surface of the intermediate product. In such a configuration, the risk that the reinforcing material layer is locally disengaged from the nonwoven material is minimized by the tufted process in which the yarn is sewn from the back surface to the pile surface.

  In one embodiment, fusing the yarn includes thermally fusing the yarn. The thermal fusing process has a low environmental impact and does not leave any additional material or material on the carpet during the manufacturing process.

  In the thermal fusion process, the step of fusing the yarn is performed by contacting the yarn with a hot contact element. The portion of the yarn that is in contact with the hot contact element is at least partially melted thereby adhering to the adjacent yarn portion and / or support material, thereby securing the yarn to the support material.

  In one embodiment, the hot contact element is a roller and the step of fusing the yarn is performed by guiding the intermediate product along the surface of the roller. The intermediate product will be in contact with part of the surface of the roller at any point in time, and the area of this contact portion can be optimized taking into account the contact time required for the fusing process. The roller may be stationary or may be rotated, for example, to have a surface speed that is equal to or approximately equal to the surface speed of the intermediate product. There may be other differences between the surface speed of the intermediate product and the surface speed of the roller surface, and these differences are adapted to control the heat transfer from the roller to the intermediate product.

  In one embodiment of the present method specifically intended, but not limited to manufacturing carpet tiles, the step of applying one or more backing materials includes the step of applying a bitumen layer and / or a latex layer. .

  In a second aspect of the invention, a carpet such as a carpet tile is provided. The carpet comprises a support material which is provided with a support material provided with a yarn tufted to the support material, the yarn being fused on one side of the support material to be tufted. As described above, the support material includes the first layer of the nonwoven material, and the first layer is provided with the reinforcing material.

  In a third aspect of the invention, a support material for use in the method of the invention or the carpet of the invention is provided. This support material comprises a first layer of nonwoven material provided with a reinforcing material as described above.

  These and other aspects of the invention will be more readily appreciated when the following detailed description is read and the same reference numerals are better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings showing the same parts. Will.

It is a schematic side view which shows one Embodiment of the manufacturing method of the carpet by this invention. 1 is an enlarged perspective view of an embodiment of a layered support material according to the present invention.

  FIG. 1 schematically shows a method for producing a carpet according to the invention in a production line. The disclosure of details of the production line does not contribute to an understanding of the present invention, and is omitted for the sake of clarity.

  A sheet of support material 2 is conveyed in the direction indicated by arrow 4 in manufacturing area S.

  In the production area T, the yarn 6 is tufted to the support material 2. The tufted process used can be any tufted process according to the prior art or a new tufted process, so that an intermediate product having a pile surface 8 and a non-pile surface 10 is obtained.

  Next, in the manufacturing region F, the tufted yarn 6 is fixed to the support material 2. In the embodiment of the method shown in FIG. 1, the non-pile surface 10 of the intermediate product will be in contact with the cylindrical surface of the contact element embodied as a roller 12. The roller 12 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow 14. The rotation direction of the roller 12 is the same as the conveyance direction 4 of the support material 2 or the intermediate product. The surface speed of the roller 12 can be equal to the conveying speed of the support material 2 or the intermediate product. Alternatively, the surface speed of the roller 12 may differ from the conveying speed of the support material 2 or intermediate product by a predetermined amount. The contact element may also be stationary, i.e. not rotating, so that the intermediate product will slide over the surface of the contact element.

  The contact element or roller 12 has, for example, a heated surface heated by a heating element (not shown in detail) provided within the roller 12. The surface temperature may be in the range of 240-280 ° C. The intermediate product contacts the roller 12 along a predetermined part of the outer peripheral surface of the roller 12, so that any part of the non-pile surface 10 of the intermediate product and the surface of the roller 12 are in contact for a predetermined time. The contact time depends on the conveying speed of the support material 2 or the intermediate product. During the contact time, heat is transferred to the non-pile surface 10 of the intermediate product, whereby the yarn 6 is fused to the adjacent yarn 6 and / or the support material 2. The pile surface 8 of the intermediate product is not affected by the fusing process, and this pile surface 8 becomes the user contact surface of the finished carpet or carpet tile.

  Instead of or in addition to heating by the roller 12, a heatsink 13 can be provided on the non-pile surface 10 of the intermediate product to fuse the yarn 6 to the adjacent yarn 6 and / or the support material 2.

  Next, after the fusion process, in the manufacturing region B, the secondary backing material is attached to the intermediate product. The backing material 16 of latex or bitumen, or any other material that provides the carpet with mass properties, or other desired or desired properties, is the surface of the intermediate product where the yarn is fused (in this embodiment To the non-pile surface 10). One or more additional backing materials, such as finishing material 18, can be applied.

  It should be noted that the above has described a method of fusing the yarn 6 and / or the yarn and the support material 2 on the non-pile surface 10 of the intermediate product. Alternatively, however, the pile surface 8 of the intermediate product can be brought into contact with the heated surface of the roller 12, thereby fusing the yarn 6 with the adjacent yarn 6 and / or the support material 2 at the pile surface 8. In this alternative process, the non-pile surface of the intermediate product is not affected by the fusing process, and this non-pile surface becomes the user contact surface of the finished carpet or carpet tile. This user contact surface may have the appearance of a woven carpet. Also, in this alternative process, secondary backing materials such as backing material 16 and finishing material 18 will be deposited on the pile surface 8 of the intermediate product, i.e. the same surface on which the fusing step is performed.

  FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the support material 2 according to the invention. The scrim 22 is adhered to the sheet of the nonwoven material 20, and thus a sheet-like integrated material made of the nonwoven material and the reinforcing material is formed. Viewed another way, the support material 2 is a layered material having a first layer of nonwoven material 20 and a second layer of scrim 22. In practice, the support material 2 may comprise two or more layers of nonwoven material 20, for example a sandwich structure of a first nonwoven material, a scrim, and a second nonwoven material. The support material 2 can also comprise two or more layers of scrims 22, for example a first scrim, a nonwoven material, and a sandwich structure of a second scrim.

  In one embodiment, the scrim may be a 1,100 dTex (gram per 10,000 meter) scrim with 2.8 × 2.8 threads per cm. The scrim may be a polyester scrim.

  The scrim 22 can be adhered to the nonwoven material 20 by applying an adhesive to the scrim 22 and / or the nonwoven material 20 and bringing them into contact with each other, for example by pressing together, and in some cases to cure the adhesive May add heat. The adhesive may be latex or hot melt. The scrim 22 is shown in FIG. 2 as a woven scrim, but the scrim need not be woven. Instead of scrims, separate yarns parallel to one direction can be provided as reinforcement in the nonwoven material 20 to provide the dimensional stability required for the carpet or carpet tile to be made.

  The separate yarns, or the yarns of the scrim 20, can be woven into the nonwoven material 20 such that a portion of the yarn is located on one side of the nonwoven material 20 and the other part of the yarn is located on the back side of the nonwoven material 20.

  Note that FIG. 1 shows a production line for performing a continuous process comprising a tuft production area T, a fusion production area F, and a backing production area B. One area outlet is used directly as the next manufacturing area inlet. However, the tufting production area T can be separated from other areas and can be located at different locations in the production facility, or at different production facilities at different locations in Japan or abroad. Those skilled in the art will understand. The same applies to the fusion production area F and the backing production area B. In such cases, the carpet manufacturing process involves separate sub-processes, each with a different intermediate product, or ultimately a final product.

  The production area S can be part of the carpet production line or can be a production area separated from other production areas, but in this production area S, the nonwoven material 20 and the reinforcing material can be joined. it can.

  In the above, carpets, such as carpet tiles, and methods for manufacturing them have been described. The carpet or carpet tile comprises a support material, which is provided with a yarn tufted to the support material. The support material includes a first layer of nonwoven material, and a reinforcing material is provided on the first layer. The yarn is thermally fused on one side of the tufted support material. One or more backing materials are attached to the one side of the tufted support material.

  Although detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein where appropriate, it is understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely illustrative of the invention and that the invention can be embodied in various forms. I want. Accordingly, specific structural details and functional details disclosed herein are not to be construed in a limiting sense, but are merely a basis for the claims and are It should be construed as a representative basis for teaching the invention to be used in a wide variety of structures for any detailed structure. Furthermore, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting, but to provide an understandable description of the invention.

  The term “a” or “an” is defined herein as one or more. The term “plurality” is defined herein as two or more. The term “another” is defined herein as at least a second and subsequent. The terms “including” and / or “having” are defined herein as “comprising” (ie, an open word that does not exclude other elements or steps). Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims or the invention.

  Several measures are listed in different dependent claims, but this does not mean that these measures cannot be used in advantageous combinations.

2 Support material
4 Transport direction
6 yarn
8 Pile surface
10 No pile surface
12 Laura
13 Heatsink
14 Direction of rotation
16 Backing material
18 Finishing material
20 Nonwoven materials
22 Scrim
S Manufacturing area
T Tuft manufacturing area
F Fusion manufacturing area
B Backing production area

Claims (25)

Providing an intermediate product comprising a support material and having two opposing surfaces, wherein the support material is provided with a yarn tufted to the support material;
Fusing the yarn on one side of the intermediate product to secure the tufted yarn to the support material;
Method, characterized in that the support material comprises a first layer of non-woven material, and the first layer is provided with a reinforcing material.   The method of claim 1, wherein the support material comprises a nonwoven material and a reinforcement.   The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the support material comprises at least one layer of nonwoven material.   4. A method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the support material does not comprise a woven material.   5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the reinforcement comprises a reinforcement layer.   6. The method of claim 5, wherein the reinforcement layer comprises a scrim.   7. The method of claim 6, wherein the support material comprises at least one scrim layer.   7. The method of claim 6, wherein the support material comprises a sandwich structure of a first nonwoven material, a scrim, and a second nonwoven material.   7. The method of claim 6, wherein the support material comprises a sandwich structure of a first scrim, a nonwoven material, and a second scrim.   10. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the scrim is a woven scrim.   6. The method of claim 5, wherein the reinforcement layer comprises a fleece.   The method of claim 1, wherein the reinforcement comprises parallel separate reinforcement threads.   13. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the reinforcement is adhered to the first layer.   14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the reinforcement is applied to the first layer, in particular by latex or hot melt.   14. The method of claim 13, wherein the reinforcement is fused to the first layer.   13. A method according to claim 6 or 12, wherein the reinforcement is woven into the first layer.   17. The reinforcing material comprises at least one of polyester (PES), polypropylene (PP), glass, and polyamide (PA), in particular PA6 or PA6.6, or both. The method as described in any one of.   18. The nonwoven material comprises at least one of polyester (PES), polypropylene (PP), glass, and polyamide (PA), in particular PA6 or PA6.6, or both. The method as described in any one of.   The first layer of the support material is on a pile surface of the intermediate product, and the reinforcing material layer of the support material is on the back surface of the intermediate product. the method of.   20. The process of claims 1-19, wherein the step of fusing the yarn is performed by contacting the yarn with a hot contact element, radiating heat to a portion of the yarn, or both. The method according to any one of the above.   21. The method of claim 20, wherein the contact element is a roller and the step of fusing the yarn is performed by guiding the intermediate product along the surface of the roller.   22. A method according to any preceding claim, further comprising depositing one or more backing materials on the one side of the intermediate product.   23. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of depositing one or more backing materials comprises depositing a bitumen layer, depositing a latex layer, or both. In a carpet, such as a carpet tile, comprising a support material comprising a support material provided with a yarn tufted to the support material, wherein the yarn is thermally fused on one side of the tufted support material ,
The carpet according to claim 1, wherein the supporting material includes a first layer of a non-woven material, and a reinforcing material is provided on the first layer.   25. A support material for use in the method of any one of claims 1 to 23, or the carpet of claim 24.

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